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Masson praises monument organizers, park

MT. ZION - At the dedication of the monument honoring the famous Bucktails of the Civil War, the Hon. Richard A. Masson, Pa. 59th Judicial District Judge and member of the Bucktail Memorial Committee, praised committee members for their efforts. “It seems like I’ve served on committees all my life. I’ve served on committees that are local, regional and statewide, and I have never served on a committee that has been more effective than the monument committee that was the genesis of this monument that we are dedicating here today,” Masson said. “This small group of people each took a task and fulfilled that task to their utmost.“Today is not a keynote day in the history of the Bucktails themselves, but it is a very historic day. It is the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Ox Hill, or Chantilly. That was the last engagement at the conclusion of the northern Virginia campaign that started after the Peninsular Campaign.” Masson noted that at Chantilly, there were two Union divisions that were engaged and both lost their major general commanders. He said there is a “pocket park” near the site commemorating the battle, but it is rather overwhelmed, and sometimes overlooked, by its suburban surroundings. “This park, on the other hand, is a jewel,” Masson said in reference to Mt. Zion Historical Park. “It’s something that everyone who has been engaged in this process should be rightly proud of, and I believe it’s a fitting place to memorialize Company G and the Elk County rifles.” He said there are many definitions of “dedication.”